This year, I was able to sample quite a large array of holiday palettes, in part because several of them went on sale at Sephora right around Christmas, and then, as a VIB member (Sephora's membership rewards program), I received an extra 20% off of those palettes which were on sale.
One of the reasons I also really like shopping at Sephora is due to the user ratings/comments. If I see a set that has comments like: "really powdery and not very pigmented," I will skip sets even if I had been determined to buy them before. One example is of the Stila color wheel holiday set. Not only did it look amazing at regular price, it was a set that everyone reported to be much larger than they had expected it to be. Not the best traveling set, perhaps, but the colors (it was arranged into a color-wheel type format) and variety made it very tempting to me. Stila shadows are also known for their incredible pigmentation and velvety texture, and I have bought many trial or sale palettes in which the shadows were of superb quality. So although I was tempted to buy it, I ended up passing due to the user comments regarding lack of pigmentation. I have bought some items that looked to be of great quality despite comments about poor pigmentation, and the comments have always proved to be right. In those cases where I went ahead and purchased the item regardless of the comments, I ended up returning them because of the overall poor quality of the pigments.
So I have learned a bit about purchasing holiday sets over the last year. Another set that I passed on this year was the Tarte holiday gift palette. I bought the palette last year and was very excited about it - so much so that I ended up purchasing, in addition, a travel set with 10 shadows in a very cute and durable package. However, that was when I was still 'new' to using everyday makeup. Over time, I discovered that the Tarte colors tend to be powdery and lack staying power. I now have these large Tarte palettes that I can't use (I've even periodically tried them again just to see if my preivious assessment is still correct - and it always unfortunately is). So I will no longer purchase these palettes, despite the fact that I still see rave reviews for the 2010 Tarte palette on youtube. I'm not happy when I see the rave reviews, as I feel that the person is either not being honest or they just keep thinking (as I did at first) that the pigments were much higher quality than they actually are.
If there is one holiday palette that I would suggest others not to pass up on, it would be the Urban Decay book of Shadows. I believe they have put one out every year so far, and these are generous palettes that usually include deluxe travel size primer potions and a couple of 3/4 size 24/7 liner pencils. These palettes always sell out, and are of truly amazing quality - consistently. In fact, I would venture to say that any Urban Decay palette is worth having, though some are definitely better than others - ALL contain shadows that are of the same amazing quality as the full-size shadows.
Another brand which seems, so far, to consistently put out high quality shadows whether in singles, palettes, or holiday sets, are the Kat Von D palettes. The Tattoo Chronicles I, which was the 2010 holiday palette from her line, went on sale from its original price of $55.00 to $39.00. This was one of the items I purchased on sale with the extra 20 percent off, and it is beyond worth it! The shadows are beautiful and incredibly pigmented. It also includes a rollerball set of her perfumes Sinner and Saint, along with 3 travel size primers (in 3 different shades) as well as one very dramatic set of false lashes. The lashes probably aren't much good if you only like natural looks, but are very fun if you like to play with different looks. A tip, too, is that if a set of lashes look too dramatic for your taste, you can cut them so that they become three quarter or even just outer wing lashes. And these lashes are uniquely cut, so I look forward to using them. Best of all are the colors in the palette, which are diverse and incredibly velvety and pigmented. I love Kat Von D palettes, and the holiday set was no exception. The packaging is also adorable.
One item that I bought on sale that really wowed me in terms of quality of shadows but not at full cost, was the Tokidoki holiday set. The set includes only 12 shadows. So if it hadn't gone on sale for $39.00 + the extra 20 percent off, I would probably have passed. But for the sale price, it is definitely worth it. It also comes with 2 blushes/1 bronzer. And it is packaged into 3 different palettes which can be removed from the larger tin, and can be easily thrown into a travel bag or purse. Overall, very cute and handy, but probably not for you if you only like natural colors. One palette includes neutral shades, but the other two has some gorgeous brights like an acid green and some deep blues. So definitely a better purchase for a person who likes to play with color. And of course, if you're a Tokidoki fan, then it's definitely a win-win situation.
Of all the sets that I purchased, there were a couple which I was on the fence about. The Lorac Box-Office Sensation, which I have already referenced in another post, is a set that seems like a great value for the price, but I would say that the quality is so-so. Some of the shadows are amazing.. there is one blue that is probably my favorite bright blue of all the colors I own, for instance. However, some of the shadows are chunky and not as pigmented. The cheek colors are also so-so, in my estimation, and the lip colors are just mediocre at best. However, it's a cute kit and it is nice to have all the products in one little portable case. Unforunately, even though it has 36 shadows, it doesn't have a strong matte black (an essential in any palette, imho) and is missing a couple of other staple shades that I use, so I would have to pack other colors if I were to take it on a trip. That's unfotunate because if it contained everything I needed, then I could justify taking it on a trip. However, for the space it takes up, it doesn't hold enough product that I would need. So this is a 'maybe' palette, in my opinion. It's something that is fun and gimmicky that you can get some use out of, but it is not consistently great in quality and is missing a few key elements that would make it really great.
The last holiday palette that I'm going to bring up is the Makeup Forever 'Rock For Ever' Eyeshadow palette. This is one plaette that I bought despite the comments about lack of pigmentation - mostly because I have never had any Makeup Forever eyeshadows, and was dying to try some. Since it went on sale for $39 plus the extra 20 percent off, I went ahead and purchased it, and I'm glad I did. I don't think I would have purchased them at full price because the colors are definitely on the sheer side. I think that they will work wonderfully as blending colors (except for the black, which seems to be pretty pigmented), but mostly, the quality of the shadows still makes them a pleasure to use. The texture is soft and velvety and the colors are very smooth, if sheer. The packaging is also really handy as you can pop these magnetic shadow pans right out, and this is a standard size shadow for many brands, including Ben Nye, La Femme, and Sugarpill. So I'm able to pop the shadows out and mix them in with my larger palettes and I can use the case for individual colors when traveling - that makes it a great purchase overall, for me. However, it is not a purchase I would suggest for everyone, because not everyone has Ben Nye, La Femme and Sugarpill palettes which - for me - make the purchase really worthwhile.
I hope that this helps in holiday purchases for the upcoming year - putting reviews up for holiday palettes after the holidays is a little crazy because many of them have already sold out. However, I still find it to be useful to know which brands consistently deliver, and which tend to be more gimmicky and of less high quality when put in palette form. So good luck in future purchases, and again, my one word of advice would be to grab the Urban Decay holiday palette every year - because if you wait too long, they will sell out and you will miss out on the best (imho) set of the year!
